Still My Hero
by Elerrina Star
Summary: Not everyone in Gotham believes that Batman is a criminal, and one little boy is determined to prove to the rest of the city that the Dark Knight is still the hero he always has been.
1. Message for Batman

_**A/N:**__ This is my very first (completed) Batman based fic ever, so I really hope that it's ok! It came to me a few weeks ago after I watched The Dark Knight. I wrote it up on my iPod at around…. 1:05am (the plot-bunnies wouldn't let me go to sleep until I 'd gotten it down.) Fortunately I've touched it up a bit since then, as my brain doesn't really function that well so early in the morning. XD  
_

_It's also totally un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine._

_Ok enough with the notes, on with the show! – er, story!_

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Sometimes I don't think I'll ever understand grownups. They can be so silly sometimes!

They just don't understand that _of course_ Batman didn't do all those bad things. Batman wouldn't _never_ do anything bad like that. But they think he did. Silly grownups…

I don't understand how come Mommy and Daddy said Batman was a hero one day, but the next day they was calling him a "no good vig-hill-Annie"… whatever that's s'posed to mean…

I saw'd Batman once – kinda. Me and Mommy was comin' home from the grocery store one night, and I was kinda scared (I was real little then!) cuz it was dark, and ever'body knows that bad men come out and try to get you when its dark outside. But then I looked up, and there he was, with his sil-o-wet (Mommy taught me that word!) all stickin' out in front of the moon. And then I wasn't scared no more, cuz I knew that Batman would make sure the bad guys didn't get us.

You know what? I used to sneak out my window at night, once Mommy and Daddy thought I was in bed, and wait for Batman. I had somethin' to tell him. Somethin' real important. I used to stay up really late and sit on the fire s'cape wait for him to come down my street. I even tried to turn my flashlight into a bat-signal like the policemen's got, but it didn't work so well...

Then one night Mommy came to check on me and caught me sneakin' out the window, and boy was she mad! She spanked me and told me I wasn't never s'posed to do that again. I tried s'plainin' to her that I _had_ to, cuz I was waitin' for Batman, but that just made her even madder. So I don't go and sit on the fire s'cape no more. But I'm not gonna give up, neither…

-.-'_'-.-

And Tommy didn't give up. The next night found something new staring out into the darkness in place of the little boy. A piece of bright yellow construction paper was taped to the window, proudly displaying two words written in large, childish print, along with a clumsily drawn picture of a bat (so that Batman will know it's for him!). Tommy had wanted to make sure that Batman got his message, even if he couldn't deliver it himself. Tommy wanted Batman to know that somebody cared.

And Batman did know. Somewhere in the night Batman had finally come down Tommy's street, and somehow that bright little paper in the window had caught his eye. Had Tommy been watching, he would have seen the slightest hint of a smile cross the Dark Knight's face before he one more vanished into the shadows of Gotham's streets, the yellow piece of construction paper and its simple message still foremost in his thoughts. The message had simply been: "THANK YOU".

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_**A/N/2: **Well, I hope you liked it! Please, please, please review and let me know what you think! Virtual cookies for all who do review! =)_

_*hugs*_

_Edited - 2/17/2011_


	2. An Unlikely Ally

_**A/N: **__Ok, sooo... I wasn't actually planning on making this a series, but this little tidbit came to me the other night when I couldn't sleep and I couldn't help but post it. That being said I've decided to make this a series of one-shots that will be update whenever I get the muse for it. This chapter features my OC Tommy, from chapter one, but isn't told from his POV. It's kinda angsty at the beginning but hopefully gets happier by the end. Oh, and the rating went up due to one naughty word in this chapter._

_Again, this story is un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine. Enjoy! :D_

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Jim Gordon watched as the last of the floats in Gotham's New Year's Day Parade continued past the place where he stood, eventually disappearing from sight among the tall skyscrapers of downtown. Pressing himself back against a nearby building and shrugging deeper into his coat, Gordon decided to wait until the crowd thinned down to regular morning traffic before braving the sea of people in order to get to his car, parked three blocks down.

He had to admit that the parade had been impressive; full of lights and happy, smiling people, it was a clever façade created by Garcia and the other politicians to convince the citizens of Gotham that their city wasn't currently falling down around their ears.

"Happy New Year…" Gordon muttered to no one in particular. In his opinion there was nothing happy about today at all. What was supposed to be a time of hope and new beginnings was instead nothing more than a bitter reminder of how wrong things had gone in the past year.

No matter what the citizens of Gotham believed, no matter what Garcia and the others kept telling everyone, the city wasn't getting better. Criminals were again running rampant as the GPD placed all its focus on catching Gotham's most wanted vigilante, and hundreds of crimes went unpunished each day because the only thing that mattered was catching _Batman. _

Gotham was quickly falling back to her old depravity, and Gordon now doubted that things would ever go back to the way they had been before the Joker and Dent's fall from sanity had destroyed everything they had worked so hard for. Sometimes he doubted that the city was even worth saving at all anymore. Batman had been the city's last hope, and now by Gordon's own testimony Batman was Gotham's most wanted criminal, accused of crimes he hadn't – would never have – committed.

Gordon would never forgive himself for going along with the vigilante's stupid, machoistic plan of self-sacrifice, and along with losing hope for Gotham he was also losing hope of ever being able to prove the Dark Knight's innocence. At the moment he wasn't sure which failure pained him more. Why hadn't he insisted they come up with some other plan? Why hadn't he –

"E'scuse me!" a voice cut in on Gordon's dark musings and he looked down in surprise to find a small boy staring curiously up at him.

"Hey there, buddy," Gordon said, stooping down to the boy's level and smiling reassuringly. "Something wrong, kiddo? You lost?"

The boy shrugged, not looking at all afraid or nervous like any lost child normally would. "I guess so. I dunno where my mommy went. Isn't you the police comnish... Comfish... Com... Isn't you the police boss?" the boy asked with a curious frown, eyeing Gordon with childish curiosity and something else that Gordon couldn't quite place.

Gordon's brows rose in surprise, though he couldn't help but smile as the child struggled to pronounce his title. "That's right, I'm Police Commissioner Gordon. But you can call me Jim, if you want to. What's your name?"

"Well, my long name's Thomas Samuel Duncan, but you can call me Tommy. - I's not s'posed ta tell my name to strangers, but I guess since you's a police man it's ok," Tommy whispered the last part in Gordon's ear and Gordon suppressed a grin, instead matching the child's serious gaze with one of his own.

"That's smart. Talking to strangers isn't a good thing." _And especially not in Gotham_, he added to himself as he stood and looked around for some sign of the boy's parents.

"How come you tell all them lies about Batman?"

Gordon froze, turning back to Tommy with a wide eyed stare. "What?" he stammered.

"How come you tell all them lies 'bout Batman?" Tommy repeated patiently, a frown marring his features. "Ya know, the ones 'bout how he killed people. Batman wouldn't never do nothin' like that!"

Tommy was staring up at Gordon in what the cop could only label as righteous anger, and he swallowed hard. "Well, Tommy, I..." he stammered, "You see... Batman, he..." _Aw hell, how'm I supposed to explain this? _Gordon groaned silently.

"Batman didn't do them bad things! I know he didn't!" Tommy stated with conviction, and Gordon sighed.

"Listen, kid," the forever-tired cop knelt down before the little boy again, staring him directly in the eyes. A thousand explanations ran through his mind, all the lies about Batman that he had repeated over and over until he made himself sick. But looking into the eyes of that one little boy, Gordon found he just couldn't lie any more. "Listen,

Tommy, can you keep a secret?" he asked softly.

Tommy nodded.

"Well then, I want you to know that I agree with you. I don't think Batman did all those bad things either. But a lot of other people do and until I can prove they're wrong, I can't say so. Understand?"

Tommy eyed Gordon and shook his head solemnly. He didn't understand at all. "If ya know Batman didn't do all them things then how come ya keep sayin' he did?"

Gordon shook his head sadly. "That's not really something I know how to explain, Tommy, but I promise you that I'm doing everything I can to find a way to prove that Batman didn't do those things. Ok?"

This time Tommy nodded, and while Gordon could tell the boy was still confused he also saw trust in Tommy's eyes.

"I won't tell nobody, Mr. Jim. Promise," said Tommy, crossing his heart.

Gordon smiled slightly. "I appreciate that, Tommy," he said with a nod. "Now, how about we see if we can find your – "

"Tommy! Oh thank goodness!"

"Mommy!" Tommy called happily as a woman pushed past Gordon and swept the boy up into her arms.

After thanking Gordon multiple times for looking after Tommy, Mrs. Duncan led the little boy away. Jim was surprised however when Tommy came running back a moment later and motioned for Gordon to bend down once more.

"Don't worry, Mr. Jim," he whispered in Gordon's ear. "Ever'thing'll be OK again someday, you'll see." Tommy reached forward and hugged Gordon tightly around his neck, causing the surprised (and secretly pleased) cop's eyes to mist over slightly, before running back to his mother and disappearing into the crowded streets of Gotham with a final wave.

Jim remained motionless for several minutes, only stirring as someone nearly tripped over his still kneeling form. Noticing that the crowd had thinned to a manageable level he finally headed towards his car. He couldn't really explain it, but somehow he no longer felt the gloomy depression that had seemed to be smothering him as of late. With a tiny twitch of a smile, Gordon took great comfort in knowing that he now had an ally in the fight to prove Batman's innocence. Even if that ally was a nothing more than a little boy that he'd met in the street one cold New Year's Day.

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_**A/N/2: **__Well there you go. Hope you all enjoyed it! Now, please please please review? Pwetty pwease? Reviews are love and keep me going when the day gets long and my muse stops talking to me. Also any plot-bunnies for future shots would be greatly appreciated, so if there's something you would like to see feel free to let me know. :)_

_Edited - 2/17/2011_


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